The Borscht Belt in the Catskill Mountains was once one of the New York’s premiere holiday destinations. Named after the Eastern European soup, during its heyday the Borscht Belt boasted around 500 hundred hotels. Catering to mostly Jewish holiday makers, the so-called ‘Jewish Alps’ were filled with everything from grand hotels and resorts, to more…

Hidden away in upstate New York, about two hours north of Manhattan, lies a forgotten holiday resort. Fifty years ago, it would have been the height of luxury for well heeled New Yorkers to come here, escaping from the Metropolis to the seclusion of the Catskill Mountains, to a place called Grossinger’s. It had opened…

This is going to be a quick one because I don’t want to sound like I sit around all day thinking about what would make the perfect instagram (although you’re welcome to like any of my posts here, of course), but I just had to share with you a most unexpected discovery. I was getting my daily…

It never really occurred to me to visit the Jersey Shore, not until I saw it in the dead of winter, through the lens of American photographer Tyler Haughey. His serene series Ebb Tide makes me want to check into a room at one of the lonely mid-century motels, stay awhile in limbo, maybe write a short…

In the heart of the Egyptian Sinai desert, concrete carcasses are rising from the sand. Sultan’s Palace, Pharoah’s Resort, Coral Beach; these are the dreamt up names given to the abandoned hotels by the German duo of photographers that captured them in their unfinished limbo, Stefanie Zoche and the late Sabine Haubitz. I’m new to the…

I‘ve met Panamanians who talk about Contadora Island as if it were a relative they lost, like a favourite uncle from childhood they adored. I spoke to a Dutch ex-pat sailor who is convinced there is a curse over Panama’s Pearl islands. “There’s always something mysterious that happens to big resorts on these islands. They never last. Take that huge…

I was sent down a deep and dark rabbit hole today when I came across a new movie trailer for Colonia. The film is based on true events which took place in 1970s Chile at the Colonia Dignidad, a dangerous cult that was revealed to have Nazi ties and to have used torture among other atrocities within its inescapable walls.…

It was the crown jewel of Romania’s “Monte Carlo”; a pearl watching over the Black Sea where royalty and the elite flocked from all over Europe and wealthy travellers spoke of it around the world, recounting stories of their extravagant gambling escapades at the Casino Constanta. It’s unmistakable art deco shapes and lines are still in tact, and from…

Sprawling over several small bays with clear blue waters peppered with fishing boats, is a dormant paradise of the dolce vita years. A forgotten “St. Tropez”, where movie stars, artists and writers once flocked to the scenic beaches of Tuscany during summer. Whereas most of us think of Tuscany for its rolling hills, scenic countryside and…

On the off chance that anyone out there reading might be considering getting into the hotel business, I thought this little piece of local real estate news was worth sharing. Sent to me by a reader, I was immediately enchanted by the Opinicon Resort on the shores of Rideau Canal at Chaffey’s Lock in Ontario,…